


November mornings

by Dawninlatin



Series: Manorian Teacher AU [10]
Category: Throne of Glass Series - Sarah J. Maas
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Fluff, Manorian baby, One Shot, Teacher AU, They have a baby in this one!, Yes! It's what we've all been waiting for!, pure fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-08
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 05:40:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,301
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29290728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dawninlatin/pseuds/Dawninlatin
Summary: Part of the Teacher AUManon and Dorian spend their first morning at home as a family
Relationships: Manon Blackbeak/Dorian Havilliard
Series: Manorian Teacher AU [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1736908
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	November mornings

**Author's Note:**

> I missed manorian a lot, so I decided to write this very short, but very sweet one shot:)

The first thing Manon became aware of as she woke was the sound of someone humming softly. It was a song she hadn’t heard before, the hushed tones forming a soothing lullaby. The source of the lullaby, on the other hand, Manon knew. She would have recognized that voice anywhere. 

A small smile formed on her lips, and it grew even bigger as she opened her eyes and beheld her boyfriend. 

His dark curls were disheveled from sleeping, and his humming stopped for a moment as he yawmed, turning the page in the book he was reading. _Of course,_ Manon thought to herself. 

That wasn’t what made her smile the brightest though, for she had long ago stopped being surprised by all the moments and places Dorian Havilliard found it fitting to pick up a book. 

Instead, her gaze moved lower, to his chest, and the small bundle lying there, sound asleep. Wrapped in a blanket, her father’s hand resting protectively on her back, she was the picture of contentment.

_Rhiannon._

_Their daughter._

Manon could have stared at the two of them forever, an overwhelming sense of pride filling her. 

She hadn’t understood, before Rhia was born, how parents could spend hours and hours just looking at their babies. Then they had placed this tiny, screaming _person_ on her chest, and everything had changed. 

That first night, it had taken three different nurses to convince her to sleep, because no matter how tired and exhausted she was, Manon simply couldn’t take her eyes off her baby girl. Brand new and absolutely perfect.

And now, as she watched Dorian and how his gaze repeatedly shifted between the book in his hand and the child on his chest, Manon knew he felt the exact same way.

She didn’t want to disturb their little moment - Dorian clearly hadn’t noticed she was awake yet - but night had turned to morning, the grey November light seeping in through the heavy curtains, and Rhia had to be hungry soon.

«Good morning,» Manon whispered, her voice hoarse. She reached over and brushed a finger over one of Rhia’s cheeks, careful not to wake her. 

Dorian put his book down, and turned his head so he faced her, his eyes lighting up. «Good morning, love. And congrats, we survived our first night alone as parents,» he grinned.

«We did.» 

Not that it had been _that_ difficult. None of them had dared to say it out loud, lest they jinx it, but little Rhiannon had proven to be a fairly easy baby this far. She rarely cried, and when she wasn’t eating, she slept like the dead.

«Have you been up for long?» Manon asked Dorian after a moment, surprised she hadn’t been woken up by the sound of him lifting Rhia out of her crib or the sound of him reading. Merely someone breathing too hard was enough to pull her out of her slumber these days.

«An hour, maybe?» Both of them looked to Rhia as she began to squirm a little, then quickly settled again. «She started fussing, so I figured I’d pick her up before she woke you.»

Manon nodded, stifling a yawn. «Thanks. I really needed that extra sleep.» 

«How are you feeling?» His gaze, now concerned, searched her for any sign of pain or discomfort.

_That mother hen._

Rolling her eyes, Manon put on a reassuring expression and said, «Better than yesterday.»

Her body was still so very sore, and she ached, _everywhere,_ but the pain was secondary. Everything was secondary compared to Rhia. Compared to her family, which she was now surrounded by.

Well, almost her entire family, Manon mused as she threw a quick glance around the room.

Abraxos was nowhere to be seen, but she wasn’t surprised. The cat had taken one disgusted look at them when they came home yesterday and fled to the attic to brood. Had he been able to speak, Manon was sure he would have said something along the lines of « _Foolish humans! How dare you bring a baby into this house when_ ** _I_** _am the only baby you need!»_

«Still no sign of Abraxos?» The question was laced with amusement. As offended as he’d gotten, the cat wouldn’t stay away for long.

Dorian shook his head. «I’ll make him a peace offering when we get up, see if I can lure him out.» They both chuckled softly at that.

«You know,» Dorian began, his eyes locked on Rhia once more as he stroked her back. «She has the exact same expression as you when she sleeps.»

Manon simply hummed in answer. 

Apart from her father’s bright blue eyes, Rhiannon was the spitting image of her mother. Even the soft wisps of hair covering her head were the same shade as Manon’s. 

Every parent said this, but she truly was the most beautiful baby Manon had ever laid eyes on.

All of a sudden, she was hit by an overwhelming wave of emotion, feeling the need to cry. She’d thought the pregnancy hormones were bad, but the past days had taken everything to a whole new level.

And now, as she thought about her precious Rhiannon, so perfect and pure and tiny and vulnerable and -

And Manon was the one supposed to care for her, protect her, make sure she had everything she needed. _Manon_ …who knew nothing of what it was like to have a mother, let alone how to _be_ one…

A muffled sob escaped her lips before she had the chance to stop it, and tears pooled in her eyes. 

«Manon…» Dorian murmured. He wasn’t able to pull her into his arms, but he reached a hand over and brushed away a stray tear, then another. «What’s the matter?»

After sniffling once, Manon said in a quivering voice, «I just hope she understands how loved she is. How wanted she is.»

«She does. I know she does,» Dorian reassured, his heart breaking for how Manon still doubted herself.

Manon nodded once, wiping away the rest of her tears. Then she placed one of her fingers in her baby’s open hand, Rhia immediately clutching it tightly.

As soon as the crying had ended, though, another wave of emotion rolled through Manon. «Her hands are cold,» she choked out as she sobbed once more. 

«She’s fine, Manon.» Yet he tucked the blanket around her a little tighter.

This time, Dorian couldn’t help but chuckle a little, and Manon laughed with him, in between the tears, at how ridiculous all of it was.

Swallowing audibly, Manon put on a feeble smile, mumbling something about _those damn hormones._

«I’m sorry for laughing at you.» Dorian said this as he brushed a strand of hair away from her face, and Manon finally regained control of herself.

«I forgive you, this time,» Manon grumbled in response.

Then the moment was interrupted by an impatient sound, and a pair of wide, blue eyes looking up at them.

«Hello, Rhia,» Manon cooed as her daughter awakened at last. 

«Good morning,» Dorian followed, smiling brightly.

Rhiannon began squirming, making little noises, and Dorian passed her on to Manon, saying, «She’s probably hungry.»

Rhia protested a bit as she was no longer in contact with Dorian’s warm chest, but then she quickly settled as Manon placed her in her arms.

Gazing down at her, at those big, blue eyes, Manon begun talking in that high-pitched baby voice she had vowed to never start using. « _Have you been sleeping for so long now? Yes you have! You must be so hungry!»_

Dorian gave Manon a soft look, one filled with love and adoration, and said, «I could easily live with every morning for the rest of our lives being like this.»

And as she stroked her daughter’s cheek, Manon found herself in complete agreement.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are always appreciated<3<3
> 
> Follow me on tumblr: @dawninlatin


End file.
